The Next Generation
by ForeverSmiles
Summary: Never once in their lives did the gang think their kids would interact and be friends - let alone fall in love. Four parts, four love stories, all told by the kids of the gang you all know and love. Eric/Donna, Fez/Jackie, Kelso/Brooke, Hyde/OC
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

Kitty Forman smiled fondly at the three children walking down the street. The two twelve-year-old twin boys were named Kyle and Todd, and had feathery brown hair just like their father. The nine-year-old girl, Brianna, took after her mother and had fiery red locks. Kitty couldn't help but think to herself that she couldn't have asked for more perfect grandchildren as their beagle, Bailey tugged on his leach, making Kyle lurch forward and Bri stomped on all the puddles in the street as it started to drizzle.

When Eric came back from Africa, he and Donna got back together—just like she predicted!—and they both went to college: Eric for his teaching degree and Donna for her writing degree. During their senior year of college, Donna got pregnant with Kyle and Todd and she and Eric got married.

It was a beautiful wedding, too. They invited Fez and Jackie, and Hyde and Sarah to take part in it (Hyde as the best man and Sarah as the Maid of Honor). They even tracked down Kelso to be a groomsmen along with Fez.

After the twins were born, Donna quit her job as Hot Donna so she could be a stay-at-home mom for a few years. Just as Kyle and Todd were old enough to go to Day Care, she got pregnant with Bri and was a stay-at-home mom for a few more years. Now that all three of them are old enough to stay home by themselves—Kyle and Todd can baby-sit their sister—Donna has gotten a few short stories published and is getting the writing career she always wanted.

It took a little while for Eric to get a job but now he teaches history at Point Place High School for freshmen and has been for five years now.

Kitty smiled and shut the door as Red called her name, retreating into the house.

"Bri, will you _stop_ that?" Kyle snapped, shielding his face from the splash as the redhead stomped on another puddle.

"Stop what? I'm just walking," she replied, smugly.

"Get out of the street, Brisley," Todd said, using the nickname her father gave her when she was born.

"Yeah! Todd and I will get in trouble if you get hit by a car!" Kyle cried as Bailey yanked him forward.

"That would be so cool," Bri stated as she hopped on the sidewalk, behind Todd.

"You're one messed up little girl," Kyle grumbled and Bri chose to ignore him.

"I want to hold Bailey's leash!" she whined.

"No! The last time you did that, he almost ran away!"

"That's cuz he saw a squirrel! He won't run away this time. I'm Bailey's favorite." It was true. Although Bailey was supposed to belong to the entire family, he was Bri's dog.

"Fine!" Kyle handed her the leash and the three of them walked the streets of Point Place in silence.

Xxx

Jackie Burkhart examined her appearance in the mirror of her bathroom. She had to make sure she looked absolutely stunning to impress her racist father and floozy mother, who were now back together and coming to dinner tonight.

Mr. Burkhart had cut Jackie off again once he got out of jail and found out she was dating Fez.

Luckily, her husband had made good friends with the owner of the beauty parlor where he worked as a shampoo boy and when the owner died, he left the beauty parlor to Fez where he and Jackie now ran it together. Jackie wanted to prove to her parents that she had it all, even without their help. She had a successful marriage, two beautiful daughters, her own business and was still gorgeous at thirty-three years old.

"Mom! Can you help me with my hair?" her oldest daughter, Lyla cried, knocking on the door.

"Sure, honey!" Jackie replied, opening the door. Lyla was twelve-years-old and Amber, her youngest daughter, was eleven. Amber looked just like a mini-version of Jackie, with her raven-colored locks and blue-green eyes. She got velvety dark skin from her father to tie the look together. It was easy to say she was beautiful. Lyla was just as pretty, if not more. She inherited her grandmother, Pam's beautiful brown hair, Jackie's light skin, and Fez's chocolatey brown eyes.

Lyla was more humble about her looks while Amber preferred to show them off. Their personalities were different in that way.

Lyla walked into the bathroom while Jackie curled her hair.

"Mom, why don't we see Grandpa and Grandma that much?" Lyla asked, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at Jackie through the mirror.

"Because your Grandpa is mad at me for marrying Daddy," Jackie replied.

"Oh. Because he's foreign?"

"That's right."

"Asshole."

"Hey! Watch your mouth, Lyla," Jackie scolded.

"Sorry," the girl grumbled.

"Umm…honey?" Fez asked, walking into the bathroom with Amber in tow. "Your daughter needs help with…lady problems."

"I got my period, Mom!" Amber boasted and Fez flinched.

"Aye…"

"Okay, hun, get something from the drawer," Jackie said, gesturing toward the drawer near the door and Amber began digging through it. The doorbell rang and Jackie jumped.

"Oh crap! They're here early!"

Xxx

Brooke Kelso got into the passenger seat of her husband's convertible while her fifteen-year-old daughter, Betsy got into the backseat.

"Where are we going?" Betsy asked, irritably.

"Your dad wants to show us something at work," Brooke replied.

When Betsy turned three, Brooke and Kelso started to date (again) and got married when Betsy was five. Kelso got fired from the Playboy mansion and moved Brooke and Betsy back to Point Place where he got into the Police Academy again and became a cop (again). The owners of the academy must have been stupid to let him back in but they did it anyway. Now Kelso was a cop and Brooke got her old job back at the library. Things were exactly the same as when she had been pregnant with her only daughter fifteen years ago and Brooke loved it.

"Alright, gang, ready to go?" Kelso asked, getting into the driver's seat and starting the sport's car.

"Sure, just one question: _where are we going?_" Betsy pushed. With Brooke as her mother and Michael Kelso as her father, it was no surprise that she came out very good-looking. Betsy had chestnut brown hair and soft, chocolate eyes like both of her parents but she was much more modest about her looks than her father. She was smart and tried to get by on her brain instead of her beauty, much to Kelso's dismay.

"Down to the police station to take a look at the latest scumbag we locked up down there. Got arrested for marijuana, you go that, Betsy? It's bad stuff," Kelso said, backing out of the driveway and driving down the street.

"Shut up, Dad, you used to smoke pot all the time! _You still do!_" Betsy cried, grinning.

"That's true so knock yourself out," he said, winking at her.

"Michael!" Brooke cried.

"So Dad, if there's no point in going to the police station, can we get ice cream instead?"

"Now you're talking!"

Xxx

Steven Hyde drove into the parking lot of Point Place Elementary School and snuck a glance at his watch: 2:57. _School should be out in three minutes._

Hyde always took twenty minutes off work so he could pick his kids up from school. Sarah couldn't because her asshole of a boss wouldn't let her change shifts at PriceMart. And besides, Hyde owned Grooves so he could leave anytime he wanted.

"_Daddy!_" Hyde looked up; smiling at his four-year-old son came running to the car.

"Hey, Johnny, man, what's up?"

"Good!"

Hyde grinned. "That's not the question I asked, dude. What's up?"

"Nothin'! Can I sit in shotgun today? Please, Daddy, _please?_" Johnny begged, pouting.

"Sorry, buddy, you're not old enough. Besides, that's where Luke sits."

Hyde buckled Johnny up in the backseat and took off to the middle school to pick up Colin.

When he got there, the thirteen-year-old plopped down in the back with a sigh and took off the baseball cap that he always wore backwards to fan his face. He had a curly mop of brown hair and was a spitting image of his father. He was also the laziest kid on the planet.

"Hey, Colin. Rough day?" Hyde asked, continuing to the high school.

"As rough as it can get for the seventh grade," Colin replied, staring out the window.

Hyde pulled up to the front of the school and honked his horn. Luke got into the passenger seat and his best friend, Xander Montgomery, squeezed in between Colin and Johnny.

Hyde drove his oldest son's best friend home from school every day because he reminded him of himself growing up. Xander's parents were abusive alcoholics who didn't give a shit about their son so he hung out at the Hyde's most of the time. Xander had brown hair and big, black glasses. He was a skinny kid and kind of reminded Hyde of Eric.

"Dad, Xander can't go home," the fifteen-year-old murmured to Hyde. "His mom's in jail and his dad's been drinking a lot lately."

Hyde nodded and glanced at Xander through the mirror. "Hey, Xander, you wanna spend the night?"

"Sure," he replied, grinning.

"Well if Xander's sleeping over again, where's Caleb going to sit?" Colin asked, referring to the cramped and full El Camino.

"He can share a seatbelt with Johnny," Hyde replied and pulled up in front of a small house. Caleb, his nine-year-old son came walking out, smiling. Caleb had blonde hair, like Luke and his mother and when he was five, he got an ear infection that caused him to go deaf. Hyde and Sarah asked W.B. for help and he paid for a private tutor to teach Caleb and school stuff since there was no deaf school in Point Place.

Caleb came up to the driver's side with a grin and asked, using sign language:

Caleb: Hi, Dad. Where do I sit?

Hyde: Share a seatbelt with Johnny. Xander's staying the night again.

Caleb: Okay.

Caleb got into the El Camino and shared a seatbelt with his four-year-old brother.

Hyde, Sarah, and Colin all learned sign language so they could communicate with Caleb. Johnny wasn't old enough to learn and Luke tried to learn but just couldn't remember it all. But Caleb could read lips so he could still talk to Luke and Johnny.

"Alright, gang, let's go," Hyde said and headed for home.

**Author's Note: So how are you liking it so far? Good, I hope! And reviews would be appreciated!**

**I just want to clear one thing up: I hope some of the things I write about Caleb being deaf don't offend any of my readers who are deaf or who know someone who's deaf because I'm really not trying to offend anyone. When someone is using sign language, I write it as a script just so you'll know that the people are using sign language so I won't have to keep saying "he said in sing language" over and over again.**

**I also don't want anyone to be offended by Caleb having a private tutor. I know that deaf people aren't incapable of taking care of themselves but if Caleb went to a deaf school, it would have to move the family away or have him move away and that just wouldn't work for the story.**

**So if anyone's offended—and I really hope that's not the case—just let me know and I'll do my best to fix it!**

**-Rachel**


	2. PART 1: LUKE & BETSY

**PART 1: LUKE & BETSY**

LUKE

Thanksgiving is rather a stupid holiday, if you ask me.

Honestly, I don't see the point. A group of Mexicans showed some retarded white people how to make corn a million years ago and now families all across the globe are forced to spend time together. Gag me.

In school they tell you that they were Native Americans but Xander and I thoroughly disagree. They had to be Mexicans, because how else would white people get them to do their manual labor?

Oh fuck. Was that racist? Probably.

I also assume that the white people way back then were mentally changed because, come on, who doesn't know how to make corn? Even I knew that and my parents really _do_ think I'm retarded.

And another thing. Why do people insist on giving thanks on Thanksgiving? I thought you were supposed to thank God for the good things in your life every day. Am I the only one who still does?

Mom tells me to stop complaining and be thankful because I was born on Thanksgiving Day fifteen years ago. So I skip the giving thanks part and say a quick prayer—like always—before digging in. I pray every night and before dinner because, well, if Jesus fucking died for me, I can pray to him once or twice a day to let him know what's going on with me.

And someone who loves you _no matter what?_ That sounds pretty sweet, man.

Although there is one advantage to the most pointless holiday ever: no school. I'm dreading having to go back because being a freshman sucks. Being a freshman with only one friend sucks harder.

I will be kind of happy to go back, though, for three reasons. The first: to make sure Xander isn't dead, I know that sounds bad but with Xander's home life, there's always a slight chance that he might not show up to school because he got the shit beaten out of him by his old man and now he's lying dead somewhere.

And let me tell you, if Xander ever died, life would suck serious monkey nuts for me because Xander is the only one who doesn't think I'm a freak and I'm the only one who doesn't think he's a freak. Well, I do, but in a good way. So voila! Best friends.

The second reason is because of my favorite teacher, Mr. Forman. He teaches history to freshmen and is possibly the coolest teacher ever. He has Star Wars figurines all around the classroom and Star Wars posters taped to his desk and on the walls and on the blackboard.

A lot of people think he's a dork but his obsession is fine by me. Star Wars is an awesome-ass movie, man. Another reason he's my favorite teacher is because he doesn't hate me like every other teacher in this fucking school. He tells me I'm smart and that if I only applied myself I could do well in school. None of it's true but it's nice to have someone believe in me.

I remember one time I stayed after school so he could help me with my homework and I was standing at his desk while he corrected my paper when I noticed a picture on his desk.

"Is that your family?" I asked, pointing at it.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling. "Why?"

"Your wife's hot."

For some reason, Mr. Forman thought that was hysterically funny, for reasons I don't understand and never will.

"Thanks. I know," he responded after he got over his laughing fit.

"What's her name?"

"Donna."

"Oh." I privately thought that her name was hot, too, but I kept it to myself. I also privately thought that his daughter, who was nine or ten, would be hot when she was older but decided to keep that to myself, too.

"So, Luke, you're a pretty good-looking kid. Got a girlfriend?" Mr. Forman asked, going back to grading my paper.

"I wish."

"Got your eye on anyone special?"

Then, before I knew what I was doing, I was telling him all about how I've been madly in love with Betsy Kelso since kindergarten and how she probably doesn't even know who I am. In return, Mr. Forman told me that Point Place is a small town, where everyone knows everyone so she probably knew I existed. She might even know my name. That made me feel so much fucking better. I can't even describe it.

Which brings me to reason number three: Betsy Kelso. She. Is. A. Fucking. Goddess. The days that she doesn't come to school are boring as hell because I have no one to spy on. And I don't mean that in a creepy way. I just mean that I stare at her from afar, wishing she would talk to me. I think I've officially switched from creepy to pathetic.

Well, whatever. Don't judge me.

I wolfed down my Thanksgiving dinner and walked to Xander's so I could ask if he wanted to go to the park with me to smoke and look at Playboys. He did. He brought the smokes and I brought the Playboys, just like always.

I don't understand how Xander can look at Playboys because I'm entirely convinced that he's gay. Like Liberace, he denies it every time I ask but also like Liberace, I never believe him. Oh well. I'll just let Xander pretend to be straight a little longer.

"I'm not gay, you stupid asshole!" Xander snapped. "And I'm not having this conversation again, so drop it!"

Or not.

"Whatever you say, Liberace," I replied, plopping down at the top of the slide and spreading the Playboys out on my lap. He glared at me.

"I hate you."

"You love me," I said and then looked at him, warily. "But only in a brotherly way, right? Cuz anything more would be fucking creepy. So get all those gay little fantasies out of your head right now cuz I—" That was as far as I got because Xander pushed me down the slide.

When I picked myself up off the ground, he was smoking a cigarette and laughing at me. "It's not funny, dickface, I could have died!" I yelled, climbing the ladder to get back onto the play equipment.

"My ass!" he yelled back even though I was three feet away from him.

"I could have broken my neck. That hurt, dumbass."

"You wanna talk about pain? Try living at my house sometime, you stupid pussy!"

"Okay," I grumbled. "You win." He always did when he brought up his home life.

It was getting dark so Xander suggested that we use our lighters so we could see the pages better (AKA the _boobs_ better) and I agreed. It was weirdly hotter that way and halfway through, my dick and I wished we were alone.

Luckily, Xander knows me and my body way too well and made an excuse for me to leave: "Won't your parents be worried about you? It's late."

"Yeah, I guess," I muttered, knowing they weren't nearly as worried as they should be. I gathered up my girly magazines and got up to leave, then looked back at him. "You comin'?"

"Naah," Xander replied, stretching and taking out another cigarette. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah," I called back as I headed for home. I decided I should honor the faggy tradition and give thanks.

"I'm thankful that Xander lives to see another day. I'm thankful for Miss November. And most of all, I'm thankful that my dad does a really bad job of hiding his stash."


	3. BETSY: Mosquito Bites and Basketball

_**Mosquito Bites and Basketball**_

**BETSY**

Mosquito bites on your feet are the worst.

No, seriously. I would rather have a mosquito bite anywhere else on my body (and I mean _anywhere_) than on my feet. The only other place that remotely compares to how horrible mosquito bites feel on your feet are the ones on the back of your knees. But even those don't come close.

The ones on the bottom of your feet can drive you nuts. And I hate it when you have little, tiny mosquito bites on your toes. The mosquito bites on your feet just _itch_ more. And they're the most awkward place to itch in a public place. People look at you like a freak when you're clawing the shit out of your own foot.

They give you the "What the fuck is she doing?" face. You know that face.

Right now I'm staring at the lumpy mosquito bites all over my feet as Roxanne goes on and on about the importance of cheerleading. She, Bethany, and April are all sitting up in my room after school when it's a perfectly nice day outside. I tried to convince them that we should go to The Hub and get some fries while we talked but they looked at me like I was insane or something. So I guess we're stuck in my pink room that I hate.

One thing I hate more than mosquito bites on my feet are having friends over because they all have a crush on my dad. They'll talk forever about how hot he is with me sitting right there. Do they not see how disgusting that is for me? He's my dad, for Christ's sake.

"Betsy? Betsy, are you listening?" Roxanne asked, snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"Yes," I lied.

"Oh. Okay, good. So as I was saying, you probably won't be a flyer because you're not light enough but you could be a base…"

Roxanne isn't the head cheerleader but wishes she was. I swear, she knows more about cheerleading than the actual head cheerleader. And she's convinced that cheerleading is a sport. Baseball is a sport. Football is a sport. Yelling, "Go, team, go!" while waving around pom-pom is _not._ Sorry, ladies.

And Roxanne is just a really shitty friend. She's always taking cheap shots at me. Like just now, when she said that I wasn't light enough to be a flyer. She can't go five minutes without sneaking an insult directed at someone in her ranting. I guess I only hang out with her and the other two bimbos in my room because we're all part of the same "popular crowd". That's the only reason I'm joining the cheerleading squad, too, to be honest.

Being "popular" isn't all it's cut out to be. I don't have a best friend. And when I talk, I feel like people are too busy agreeing with me to really listen to what I'm saying. They don't give a shit about what I'm saying. They don't give a shit about _me._ People just want to be in the Popular Zone.

Roxanne is probably the snottiest bitch I've ever met but she's the closest thing to a best friend I've ever had. How sad is that? I wonder if all the popular kids feel as empty as I do.

I don't mean to be such a damn cliché. I don't want to be the popular girl whining about how no one understands her. If it was up to me, I'd rather be unpopular with a few real friends than popular with a shitload of fake friends. But if I shunned all the populars, I'd just be alone. And fake friends are better than being alone, right?

I've also never had a boyfriend. Not a real boyfriend, anyways. Tons of guys have asked me out and I've rejected almost all of them. And then the ones I don't reject are sweet at first but then I find out they just want me because they think I'm hot or because I'm popular or because people think we would look good together. I just want a guy to like me for me.

I'm seriously starting to doubt that any good guys live on this planet.

I finally convinced Roxanne and The Bimbos to come outside and shoot hoops in the front yard. Roxanne and Bimbo #2 (April) watched while Bimbo #1 (Bethany) and I played Around the World. Except Bimbo #1 screams every time the ball gets within five feet of her and cannot make a basket to save her life. I won easily.

"Cheerleaders don't play basketball," Roxanne stated as if it were a fact.

"My dad and I play together sometimes," I argued and quickly regretted it, as my one comment sparked a twenty minute conversation on my father's "smexiness". I just tried to block them out and see how many baskets I could make in a row until they were done.

It's seven, by the way.

"If you like basketball so much, you should try out for the basketball team, Bets," Roxanne suggested as they finally quit discussing my dad.

"Eww. That's social suicide," Bimbo #2 said.

"You think everything besides being a cheerleader is social suicide," I shot back and she replied with,

"Because it's true."

"Well, like you said, you can always play basketball with your dad. You're still committed to cheerleading, though…right?" Roxanne asked me.

"I guess."

Roxanne got all huffy all of a sudden. "If you want to be a cheerleader, you should take it seriously." I rolled my eyes at that. It's cheerleading, not the fucking Olympics.

"Sorry."

The three of them left quickly after that and then I was alone with my basketball, which was normally fine with me but playing by yourself is pretty boring so I went inside to do some homework. This is what I've been resorted to.


	4. LUKE: The Tutor

_**The Tutor**_

_**LUKE**_

I am so pissed.

I'm literally seething with anger, that's how pissed I am. How could he _do_ this to me? I thought he understood me. And I know this sound far-fetched, but I thought he was my friend.

"Goddamn, dude. Calm the fuck down. Seriously," Xander said in between bites of my sandwich the next day, in the cafeteria at school.

"_No!_ I _won't_ 'calm the fuck down', Xander! Mr. Forman fucking signed me up for a tutor! _What the fuck, man?_ What an asshole! I can't believe he did that!" I complained. "I thought he was on my side, and he fucking screwed me, man!"

"Maybe it won't be so bad," Xander suggested, shrugging as he continued scarfing down the rest of my lunch.

"My grades aren't even that bad!" I continued ranting, ignoring Xander.

"You have all D's. Your grades are worse than mine."

"Everyone in my family already thinks I'm fucking mentally challenged! I thought Mr. Forman was the only person besides you who _didn't_ think that! _He set me up!_"

"Oh My God, Luke. Shut the fuck up. Please."

I have to admit, when Mr. Forman told me the news, I kind of blew up on him. I told him he was a geeky asshole who should mind his own business. Then I flipped him off and screamed, _"When your daughter gets older…I'm totally going to bang her!"_ and stomped out the door.

I'm starting to regret it now, but only because I'm pretty sure he's going to give me detention. But hey, if I'm in detention after school then maybe I won't have to see my—gag—tutor.

So now I'm sitting on the steps in front of the school, watching the school buses and cars pull out of the parking lot, waiting for my tutor.

_I could be riding my bike home with Xander right now. I could be bitching to him about how I wish I had a car. I could be doing anything else besides this._

There was a tap on my shoulder and an all-too familiar voice saying, "Are you Luke?"

My balls shriveled up. My eyes bugged out of my head. I choked on my own spit. All that came out of my mouth was, "Mmm."

Betsy fucking Kelso sat down next to me on the steps with her backpack slung over her shoulder. "I'm Betsy. I'm gonna be your tutor."

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. _Don't fuck this up, Luke, or you'll never forgive yourself. _I began to have a conversation with myself that went something like this:

Me: Say something, fucktard!

Me: I can't. She's talking to me. Betsy Kelso is talking to me.

Me: She won't be for long if you don't say something, dumbass!

Me: But what if she thinks I'm a freak?

Me: I'm going to kick your ass. You're ruining this for me.

Me: _But Betsy Kelso is talking to me!_

Me: I hate you.

"Umm…are you okay?" Betsy asked.

Me: Talk to her.

Me: I can't! We've been over this!

Me: Don't you get it? Mr. Forman wasn't screwing you over, he was hooking you up! Don't ruin this or he _and_ Betsy will think you're a loser!

"I'm fine. And yeah, I'm Luke." Somehow I found the courage to talk to her. If Xander was here, he'd be laughing his ass off and calling me a pussy.

"Okay, cool. So do you know a place we can go to study? Because my mom works at the library…which is why I never go there," she said and then laughed.

"We could go to my house."

"Great. That sounds perfect."

So I led her to my house and I realized it was farther than I thought when I started shivering from the cold and we were only halfway there.

"Where do you live?" Betsy asked, trying to be nonchalant, but I could tell she was freezing, too.

"Near The Hub."

"Damn. That's far."

"We could go to my dad's record store, it's only like, five minutes away," I suggested but Betsy shook her head.

"No, your house is fine. Besides, I think Beavis and Butt-head is on right now."

Oh My God. I'm falling more and more in love with this girl every day.

"I _love_ Beavis and Butt-head," I said, grinning.

"Really? None of my other friends like that show. Neither does my mom. They all say it's stupid. Me and my dad love it, though," she explained, her cheeks red from the cold.

"My best friend, Xander and I worship that show."

"Xander Montgomery?" Betsy guessed and I nodded, regretting I had ever said anything. You'd be surprised at how many people _hate_ Xander. "Is he nice?"

I smirked at that. "I guess you could say that." But to be honest, Xander wasn't all that nice.

When we finally got there, Colin and Xander were spread out on the couch, munching on Cheetos and watching the end of Beavis and Butt-head while Caleb was sleeping on the kitchen table and Johnny was getting into the caffeinated drinks.

"Hey, Luke, you finally ditched your tutor?" Xander said without looking up.

"No, actually. I think you know Betsy," I replied and Xander almost crapped his pants when he saw Betsy standing there.

"Holy shit! Betsy Kelso's standing in your living room, dude!"

"I'm aware of that," I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Seriously, dude. What date rape drug did you use on her ass to get her over here?"

"Shut the fuck up, man!" I cried but Betsy was laughing.

"You've got it backwards. I was the one who drugged Luke so I could lure him over here and have my way with him." Both Colin and Xander cracked up at that while I stood there with my mouth hanging open.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Big Brother? Get your ass upstairs! You don't wanna keep the pretty lady waiting!" Colin yelled and Xander howled with laughter.

I very quickly took control of the situation by pulling Betsy up to my room and apologizing for my best friend and little brother's behavior but she just laughed.

"That's okay. I think they're funny."

"Really? I think they're assholes."

"Umm…nice room," Betsy said, looking around.

Let me paint you a picture of my oh-so-fabulous bedroom. There's one bed with navy blue covers and one wooden dresser where I stash my Playboys, smokes, and weed. Oh, and my lighter. All of my clothes and all my other possessions are all over the floor and have been for fucking forever. I don't even remember what color my carpet is. But most importantly, my walls are covered in half-naked chicks, chicks in bikinis, Led Zeppelin, motorcycles, mine and Xander's artwork of what we think hell looks like, and a small poster advertising Camel cigarettes.

"Thanks." To be honest, I'm proud of my room. It was…me. I was fortunate enough to have parents who don't give a shit what I do with my room.

"I wish I could do what I want with _my_ room," Betsy ranted, sitting down on my bed. "My room's all pink and girly and gross. I wanted to paint it orange but my mom said my dad worked hard painting it when I was five. Blah."

"When you were _five?_ Because your taste hasn't changed at all since then, right?" I said, sarcastically and she laughed.

"I know, right? Ugh. Parents."

"Tell me about it."

Betsy spread all her books out on my bed and started talking about math formulas and cloning sheep and who won World War II. I'll admit that I wasn't paying attention in the slightest. I was too busy trying to not stare at her boobs and wondering how so much sexy can be packed into one person.

"…alright, so what part of that whole paragraph do you think the author was trying to use symbolism for?" Betsy asked, breaking me out of my trance only for me to realize I have no idea what she's talking about.

"Uh…"

"You know, Luke, if you paid attention in school then maybe you wouldn't be failing all your classes," she pointed out.

"That would probably help."

"Well," she glanced at her watch. "I've got to get home for dinner. I'll come back over tomorrow?"

"Uh…yeah," I stammered and she smiled at me before packing up all her stuff and leaving.

When Betsy was gone, I went down to the living room and did a sort of happy dance. Colin and Xander called me a fag and then threw chips at me until I got out of the way of the TV.

I wasn't even bothered when they made me clean it up because BETSY KELSO TALKED TO ME AND SHE'S COMING BACK OVER TOMORROW WHERE SHE WILL TALK TO ME AGAIN.

Life is good.

**Author's Note: Alright, so incase you didn't know, the year is 1994. That's 1979 (the year Luke was born) plus 15, for all of those of you out there too lazy to do the math. Haha. And I chose Beavis and Butt-head as their favorite show because I saw the movie and now love that show, and hey, it was out in 1994.**

**And also, someone requested a family tree being made and I don't blame her because their families are hard to remember. So here ya go:**

**THE KELSO'S:**

**Michael Kelso – 35**

**Brooke Kelso – 36**

**Betsy Kelso – 15**

**THE HYDE'S:**

**Steven Hyde – 34**

**Sarah Hyde – 34**

**Luke Hyde – 15**

**Colin Hyde – 13**

**Caleb Hyde – 9**

**Johnny Hyde – 4**

**THE BURKHART'S:**

**Fez Burkhart – 34**

**Jackie Burkhart – 33**

**Lyla Burkhart – 12**

**Amber Burkhart – 11**

**THE FORMAN'S:**

**Eric Forman – 34**

**Donna Forman – 34**

**Kyle & Todd Forman – 12**

**Brianna Forman – 9**


	5. BETSY: Making New Friends

_**Making New Friends**_

_**BETSY**_

Luke's kind of cute. Oh, what am I saying? Luke's fucking hot. You could cook bacon and eggs on his chest, that's how scaldering hot he is. He's also nice and funny and cool, and seems to have a lot more potential than all the creeps I've gone out with.

I could never tell Roxanne all that, though, or she would strangle me to death. I told her that Luke was the teeniest bit cute (what an understatement!) and she smacked me on the head and said it was one thing to be forced to tutor a loser but it date one was out of the question for a soon-to-be cheerleader. And I want to live so I kept my mouth shut about Luke's hotness.

I even like his friend, Xander even though th only things out of his mouth are "dude", "seriously", a swear word, and something dirty. But that's okay because he makes me laugh.

This may sound ridiculous but I suddenly have the urge to "slum with the losers" as Bimbo #1 puts it. I've been informed about a thousand times that Luke Hyde and Alexander Montgomery are at the very bottom of the Loser Scale, but do I care? No, I do not.

So now here I am, standing in the middle of the cafeteria with my lunch tray, looking back and forth between my usual lunch table with Roxanne and The Bimbos and all the other cheerleaders, and the table where Luke and Xander sit at by themselves.

"Betsy! Come on!" Bimbo #2 called from the Popular Table, waving me over.

Xander was trying to swipe some of Luke's grapes, who quickly put him in a headlock.

"Betsy! Get your ass over here!" Roxanne snapped and that's when I decided that I had had enough.

I was sick and tired of being treated like crap by that bitch. Sick and tired of having to do what the popular kids wanted. Sick and tired of being so lonely.

_Screw this,_ I thought and marched over to Luke and Xander's table and asked if I could sit with them.

At first, they just stared at me, probably because they were in the most awkward position ever: Luke tightening his grip on Xander's neck and Xander gnawing on Luke's arm to get free.

"Yeah, sure," Luke finally said and I took a seat across from the two, who were untangling themselves from the other.

"Did you get into a fight with your stuck-up bitch friends?" Xander asked, swiping the muffin off my tray. I would've yelled at him but he didn't have a lunch, so I let it go.

"No. They were never really my friends to begin with," I replied, digging in to my slice of pizza.

"That sucks," Luke said, sympathetically and I nodded in appreciation for his sympathy.

"So are we the new friends that Betsy Kelso has chosen?" Xander asked and I shrugged and said,

"I guess so."

"Oh, what an honor! I can hardly believe this! _I am The Chosen One!_" Xander cried out, sarcastically and Luke elbowed him in the ribs.

"Cut it out, man, you're being a dick."

"I was only joking."

"You were being an ass."

"Well, if Betsy wants to hang out with us, she'd better get used to me being an ass on a daily basis."

I raised my eyebrows at them. "Are you two done?"

Xander said yes at the same time that Luke said no and then they gave each other this weird look and went back to their lunches like nothing ever happened. Amazing.

Lunch continued like that: Xander swiping parts of both Luke and my lunches and making fun of us notoriously, followed with hyena laughter. Yes, that's right. I've decided that Xander's laugh is like one of the hyenas. It's high-pitched and annoying and he only does it when he's up to no good. He and Luke argued, playfully, resulting to Xander in two more headlocks and Luke got a knee in the nads. I added sarcastic comments where they were needed but mostly I just watched, thinking about having guys as friends is so much more fun than having girls as friends.

Example 1: Guys don't stab you in the back.

Example 2: Guys are more fun to be around.

Example 3: Guys are easy to talk to.

Example 4: When guys fight, they just blow up and then it's done, it's over with. They don't hold grudges.

Example 5: Guys are hot.

When I went to my next class, Roxanne and The Bimbos and the rest of the cheerleaders that were there sat as far away from me as possible and didn't talk to me the entire class period, but made sure to throw bitchy glances my way every five minutes. This is their way of letting me know that they're Pissed Off.

I just shrugged it off and thought that at least I wouldn't have to talk to them for a day or two.

Wrong.

Roxanne approached me after the final bell, when I was at my locker, packing up all my books as I prepared to meet up with Luke, and demanded to know what my problem was. I told her I didn't know what she was talking about but she just glared at me and chomped on her gum and said I knew exactly what she was talking about.

In which I replied, "It's none of your business who I sit with at lunch."

"If you hang out with losers then people will think you're a loser. And then they'll think _I'm_ a loser for hanging out with you!"

"I think your solution is pretty simple: stop hanging out with me."

Roxanne looked bewildered, like I'd just slapped her across the face and spit on her. "I thought we were friends."

Was she serious?

"You only hang out with me because you want to convince me to be one of your cheerleading groupies."

"I thought you _liked_ cheerleading. I thought you liked _me._" Wow. It's actually nice to hear that my pretending to like her and the rest of them all these years had been convincing.

"Can't I be friends with you _and_ Luke and Xander?"

"I-I don't know. Cheerleaders aren't supposed to-"

"There you go again!" I cried. "You talk about cheerleaders like they're so much better than everyone else! But just because you guys squeal and run around in slutty little uniforms doesn't make you superior! Just because someone's a cheerleader shouldn't have to limit who she can and cannot hang out with or what they can and cannot do!"

Roxanne was speechless for the first time in her life. At one point, I thought she was going to slap me. But she just calmly opened her mouth and said, "Wow. I guess you're not the person I thought you were all this time, Bets."

"I guess not," I replied, slamming my locker. "Now I'm off to meet my new friend, Luke, who I think is _extremely _hot, by the way!" And then I marched out the front doors, where Luke was waiting for me on the steps.

"Hey, Betsy."

Now I know I seemed like I was totally calm and collected in there, but in reality, I almost shit my pants. I tried to tell myself that Roxanne was just a person but she's...god dammit, she's _scary._ A majority of the entire school will hate me by sunrise tomorrow.

Was I ready for that?

"Bets, you ready to go? If we haul ass, I bet we can catch the last half of Beavis and Butt-head," Luke said, standing up as snow started to fall and I smiled to myself.

Yeah. I was definitely ready for that, but just as long as I had Luke and Xander on either side of me.


	6. LUKE: Invisible

_**Invisible**_

_**LUKE**_

"Luke, honey, are you ready yet? We're going to be late!" my mom called and I glared into my cereal bowl.

"Luke, come on, we don't have all day!" my dad agreed, irritably.

"I'm not going!" I barked and stomped to my room, slamming the door shut behind me. I could hear my parents exchanging a few words-probably talking about their dumbshit oldest son-and then they left.

I fumbled to get a cigarette out of my pocket and then lit up. It was actually kind of amusing that my parents would try to get me to go to a dinner celebrating Colin and how he is perfect in every way. Not that Colin is any help. Whenever we have one of these outings, he just smirks at me as if saying, _"I'm everything you've always wanted to be. Ha ha ha."_

Asshole.

My dad and I are the only two smokers in our family. When I was younger, I used to try to hide it, but then my parents walked in on me taking a drag in the backyard and I discovered that they couldn't care less. Same with weed. My dad always knows when I take some of his stash, but does he yell at me about it? No. He just says to not take so much next time and then goes back to whatever he's going.

God forbid Colin should ever go near either of those things. One time Dad found him trying to dip into his stash and gave him a ten-minute lecture saying that this stuff fucks with your brain and that Colin shouldn't let his mind go to waste.

Did I get this lecture? No. Because my dad doesn't think I have a mind to begin with. He doesn't want his precious Colin smoking pot because Colin is fucking smart, he has potential, and he's everything my burnout dad wasn't as a teenager. So I guess Dad's proud of him for that, proud of him for making the name "Hyde" mean something. But me? I'm exactly like Dad was growing up-a lazy, arrogant pothead. He thinks I'm a lost cause.

I wished I could call Xander or Betsy to tell them to come back over, but it was probably dinnertime at Betsy's house and Xander's dad always gets pissed off when I call there.

I hear people bitching about being in the shadow of their older brother, and how much it sucks. But nothing, and I mean _nothing,_ compares to being in the shadow of your younger brother. The one who's supposed to look up to you has already passed you by and he's laughing about it.

My mom isn't so bad. I'm her oldest and she think that I'm just the greatest thing that has ever stepped foot on this world. And I can dig that. My dad, on the other hand, is always telling Colin how proud he is of him. But has dear old Dad ever told me he was proud of me? No. Never. Not once. Because Colin has always been better. When I get a good grade, Colin has a whole stack of them.

Why are they taking Colin and the rest of the family (besides me) out to dinner tonight? Because Colin has all A-pluses, 100% in every single one of his classes. Possibly the smartest kid in the entire middle school. And my fucktard of a little brother doesn't even _try._

In my entire life, I've always wanted my dad to tell me he was proud of me. Just once. For him to be focused on me and not Colin, for just a few seconds. But is that ever going to happen? Not likely.


	7. BETSY: Vandalism

_**Vandalism**_

_**BETSY**_

Roxanne keeps glaring at me from over at the cheerleader table. And whenever we make eye contact, she rolls her eyes and looks away. Who could have thought that she would hold a grudge?

Luke and Xander are talking about which one of the cheerleaders has the biggest tits.

"Roxanne for sure," Xander stated, munching on Luke's pretzels.

"Are those glasses working right? Nicole's are clearly bigger. It's fucking obvious, man," Luke argued, throwing his hands up.

"What about April?" Xander asked. "She's got some _knockers,_ baby."

"No, no, they're not bigger than Nicole's. She-" Luke was interrupted by mashed potates being flung at his face, hitting him in the left cheek. Laughter erupted from the jocks/cheerleader table and soon the entire caferia was laughing. He and I were stunned. Xander was pissed.

"You think that's fucking funny?" Xander screamed, jumping up and hurling an apple in their direction. Roxanne threw a slize of pizza at me, hitting me square in the chest. Luke decided to defend my honor and whip a milk carton back at her, but she ducked and it hit Bimbo #2 instead.

Soon an entire food fight broke out. The cheerleaders were screaming and crying like the little bitches they were, but for everyone else it was the funnest thing ever. Xander was doing an army crawl on the ground, using Luke's lunch tray as a shield and screaming offensive things at people, and then he would use the lunch tray to cover his face when people would get pissed off and throw food at him. Luke and I were whipping food at the cheerleaders because it was funny to see the them freak out and have their jock boyfriends come to their rescue. Tyler Drayton threw a plate of spaghetti at me and I remembered Roxanne told me something about setting me up with him a few weeks ago. He's a football player, just like Roxanne's boyfriend.

Tyler's a nice guy and everything, but I'd rather not go out with someone just because I'm a cheerleader and he's a football player. I always thought that love was about _love_ and not about who would look good together. Besides, I'd much rather go out with Luke.

I snuck a peek at the blonde hottie, who had copied Xander's idea and was using a lunch tray as a shield. I was just standing there having food fly around me, some hitting me and some not. I was too lost in my own little world to notice, or really care.

At that moment, Principal Forrest came bursting into the room and damn, was he _pissed._ He started screaming and waving his arms around and his face was all red. The food fight quickly died down as soon as he entered the room and now everyone was staring at him, looking terrified while he seethed in anger.

"_Who started this?_" he screamed. No one said anything. "_Fess up or all of you get detention!_"

Everyone was still quiet. Until Hayden Patterson - quarterback - pointed an accusing finger in our direction and informed our principal that Luke and Xander started it.

"_What?_" Xander cried, jumping to his feet. "We did not!"

"He's lying! It was them!" Luke agreed, gesturing to the jocks. Principal Forrest wasn't listening. He just marched up to the two of them and snarled,

"My two worst students. I should've known. You're coming with me. _Now._" Then he grabbed them both by the arm and dragged them out of the cafeteria.

The jocks and cheerleaders started whispering and snickering and everyone else quickly followed suit. But not me. I was just standing there. Stunned, angry, confused. I felt like that the rest of the day and was dying to know what happened. I went to Luke's house for our tutoring session but his mom answered and said he was grounded. Now I'm staring at my ceiling at 10:30 at night, trying to fall asleep and then I saw a pebble bounce off my window.

I got out of bed to open it and saw Luke standing in my yard with cans of spray paint and a flaslight tucked under his arm. I asked him what he was doing here in a hushed tone and he said that I needed to come with him and that he would explain on the way.

Now you have to understand. I've never snuck out a day in my life. My parents trusted me fully and completely and I wanted to keep it that way. But I could tell this was important so I told him I'd be right down and then snuck outside.

"Principal Forrest called our parents," Luke explained as I followed him to the school. "My parents grounded me for something I didn't even do. And Xander's dad, uh, is an alcoholic bastard. So is his mom. They're both abusive and shit and once they heard about what happened..." Luke shook his head, slowly. "Xander's in the hospital."

"Oh My God!" I cried, alarmed. "Is he okay?"

"He has broken ribs. A broken wrist. A concussion. It's...bad."

I could tell Luke didn't like talking about this so I changed the subject and asked what we were doing. He explained that we were going to vandalize the school as revenge, hence all the spray paint cans. He could tell that I looked skeptical (sp?) about the whole idea and he just said, "Do it for Xander."

Score one for peer pressure.

When we got there, Luke explained that we should just spray paint a bunch of swear words and other things like, "School sucks ass" and stuff like that. Luke went on one side of the school and I went on the other to cover more ground, but I wished we had stayed together. It was dark outside and I was paranoid - I would feel better if Luke was with me.

I shook my spray paint can and wrote the following: "This is for XANDER", "School is for fags", "Principal Forrest is an asshole", and "CUNT". I shivered after I finished writing the T on 'cunt'. Not because there was a thick layer or snow on the ground but because I really, really hate that word. But I was also really, really pissed off at our school because it was their fault Xander was hurt so I just continued with my vandalism.

The wind blew chilly air in my face and I wrapped Luke's jacket around myself even tighter. He had given it to me while we were walking over here after he noticed that I was in my pajamas and freezing. I was just about to put the cap back on my spray paint and go find Luke when I heard a car pull into the parking lot of the school and blue and red lights flashed.

_Shit! The cops!_ I thought and just about crapped my pants. I accidentally dropped my spray paint can and ran to the backside of the school, my sneakers leaving footprints in the snow. _Shit, shit, shit. _I was trembling. All I wanted was to find Luke and go home, and then pretend this never happened.

I heard someone running towards me and saw a flashlight and squeezed my eyes shut, expecting to hear the cops yelling at me but instead I felt a hand on my shoulder and Luke whispering in my ear, "Betsy! We gotta get outta here."

"No shit," I whispered back, wondering who could have called the police. Who could have seen us?

We saw flashlights and heard muffled voices coming from both sides of the school and we both just stood there like a deer caught in the headlights when four policemen pointed their flashlights at us.

"_Betsy?_" one of the policemen cried, stepping towards me.

"_Dad?_" I cried, baffled.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse...

"What the hell are you doing here?" my dad asked, shining his flashlight in my face. Luke was standing next to me, trying to avoid eye contact.

"I-I-" I stammered.

"Mike? This your daughter?" one of the other policemen asked and my dad nodded, saying that he would take care of me when we got home. I gulped. "Who's the other one? Is that the Hyde kid?"

"Yeah. I'll take care of him, too." The other policemen nodded, solemnly and disappeared, knowing that Officer Kelso had everything under control. Soon it was just me, Luke, and my dad standing there, awkwardly. Dad said to get in the car and we both followed him to the police car and then got into the backseat. When my dad started the car, Luke whispered in my ear that he was sorry that he got me into this mess and that he should have gone alone. I just shook my head.

Is it wrong that I'm in this situation but I still get chills when Luke whispers in my ear? And is it wrong that I'm in so much trouble but I'm wrapping Luke's jacket so tight around me that my fingers hurt, and that I'm hoping he doesn't ask for it back?

He didn't.

When Dad pulled up in front of the Hyde residence, he and Luke got out of the car and then went up to the porch, and my dad had to explain what happened to Mr. Hyde, who wasn't very pleased at being woken up at almost midnight. Then my dad got back in the car and he drove home without a word. It was so awkward. My stomach was in knots because I knew how much trouble I was in. But I just kept sniffing Luke's jacket to calm myself down.

...There's something wrong with me.

Dad pulled into our driveway and my mom came running out of the house, asking if I was okay. Apparently, when my dad got the call that some kids were vandalizing the school, he went to check on me before he left and saw that I wasn't in my bed. So my dad went to the school while my mom stayed home and called everyone in town, asking if they knew where I was.

Mom put her hands on her hips and said in this icy tone, "Go to bed, Betsy. We'll talk about this in the morning." I obeyed without a word and now I'm staring at my ceiling, trying to go to bed and it's almost one in the morning. My feet are cold and I'm so glad to be back in my nice, warm bed.

I'm still wearing Luke's jacket.


	8. LUKE: Visiting Xander

_**Visiting Xander**_

**LUKE**

Goddamn cops. I can't stand them.

You can imagine that my dad wasn't very pleased when he got woken up in the middle of the night by his delinquint son who's being brought home by the cops. You see, my dad hates cops more than I do so I expected him to be a total ass but he wasn't. He and Officer Kelso were friendly towards each other like they knew each other somehow. He's the same way with Mr. Forman when he comes to my open house. It's weird.

Anyway, he extended my grounding from a week to a month and sent me to bed. He said he was too tired to yell, which I'm grateful for.

I don't regret it. That goddamn school deserved every bit of it. Of course they would believe fucking Hayden Patterson over me and Xander because Hayden's a _football player._ Now Xander's in the hospital. And do they care in the slightest? Not at all.

I _do_ regret getting Betsy involved, though. I know she got in trouble and now I feel like a total douche. I should've just left her alone, but no. I didn't want to go alone. God, I'm such a pussy.

So now I'm sitting in Mr. Forman's first period and everyone around me is whispering and gossiping about the school being vandalized. Principal Forrest never revealed who it was but they all know it was me. Everyone's staring and I just want to get through the day without killing myself.

Mr. Forman had me stay behind after class and the first question out of his mouth was, "Why'd you do it?"

"For Xander. Didn't you read the grafitti?" I asked and then apologized for throwing a bitch-fit when he told me about the tutor and assured him he wouldn't have to worry about me going anywhere near his daughter.

"Good to know," he replied, cracking a smile. "But I don't understand. What happend to Xander?"

Other kids from his second hour class started filing into the classroom so I quickly told him the whole story and by the time I was done, the bell rang and I was late to my next class. Again.

"Principal Forrest is a dick," Mr. Forman said as he wrote me a pass. "but I'll deny it if you tell anyone I just said that. And I'm sorry about Xander. I hope he gets better soon."

I thanked him and took the pass before quickly exiting the classroom. I didn't go to class, though. I sat in the bathroom stall and wrote stuff about Principal Forrest being an asshole on it in permanent marker. I thought about Xander a lot and Betsy, too. I wondered if she was in as much trouble as me. Probably more. My parents are used to that kind of behavior from me but hers must be completely furious and shocked. I realized she still had my jacket. I thought about her boobs. A lot. Considered jacking off in the stall but decided against it, seeing as I would probably get caught. Not that I cared, but I really don't want to get in any more trouble. I thought about Betsy's tits some more and then the bell rang - I guess time really _does_ fly when you're having fun.

I suffered through the next couple of classes before it was time for lunch. Or more importantly, time to see Betsy. When I arrived at our lunch table, she greeted me with fake cheerfulness and then got really quiet.

"You okay?" I asked her, picking at my lunch. Now that Xander wasn't here to steal most of it, I didn't want it.

"Not really," she replied, sadly, which of course made me feel like a huge asshole. It was _my_ fucking fault that she got in so much trouble. "...I can't stop thinking about Xander, you know? All day, I've just been wondering if he's okay or if he's gotten any visitors at the hospital. We should go see him after school."

_That's_ why Betsy was upset? Not because she got in trouble, but because she was worried about Xander? I decided that Betsy Kelso was officially the kindest, most beautiful, most _self-less_ person on the entire planet. I quickly snapped out of my 'Betsy-Is-Perfect' trance so I could reply,

"Yeah. We should. But aren't you grounded?"

"_Beyond_ grounded. But I'll just tell my parents that I stayed after school for help on homework or something."

Betsy and I made an exact place where we would meet and then we went to our afternoon classes after the bell rang. When school finally ended and Betsy and I were leaving the parking lot, with a long walk to the hospital ahead of us, Mr. Forman pulled up next to us in his Vista Cruiser and asked if we wanted a ride home.

"Uh...actually, we were going to the hospital to visit Xander," Betsy explained, uneasily. She wasn't used to having teachers be so overly nice to their students, so she probably thought he was trying to molest her or something.

I, on the other hand, know that Mr. Forman is one of the few good teachers at this goddamn school and actually cares about his students outside of school so I know he's just trying to be nice.

"Oh, that's right," he said and then shrugged. "Well, hop in, anyway. I'll go with."

"_Really?_" Betsy cried but I was already opening the back door to the car.

"Yeah. If I don't go now, I'll never get around to it."

Betsy and I got into the backseat of the Vista Cruiser and Mr. Forman started driving towards the hospital. I was grateful because it's fucking _cold _out. I should really stop walking places so often during December. On the car ride over there, Mr. Forman kept asking Betsy questions about her dad, like if he was still in police work and how long he and her mom had been married.

"How do you know my dad?" Betsy asked as we pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"We, uh, used to be friends in high school," Mr. Forman replied with a grin. "Same with your dad, Luke."

I perked up. "Really?" No wonder Mr. Forman and my dad had always been so friendly with each other when they talked.

"Yeah."

The three of us got out of the car and asked the nurse where Xander's room was. She told us and Mr. Forman and I led the way. I was used to visiting Xander in the hospital so I knew the hospital pretty well and Mr. Forman once told me that his mom used to be a nurse here, so he knew it pretty well, too. Betsy was following us around, with no idea where we were going.

"...Alexander, you have to put your gown back on!" a nurse was yelling at him when we walked in.

"I don't want to! It's itchy and makes me look like a faggot. Fuck you, I'm not wearing it!" Xander yelled, spreading out on his hospital bed with just his boxers. "And don't call me that! It's Xander! _Just_ Xander!"

"Fine!" the nurse snapped and stomped past us, muttering, "Brat."

"Hey, man," I said, grinning, as the three of us walked into the room.

"Dude!" Xander cried, throwing his hands up when he saw me. "I was wondering when you were gonna get your sorry ass over here!"

"They treatin' you okay here?" Mr. Forman asked and Xander looked surprised to see him here. But it was a pleasant kind of surprise.

"Same as always."

Mr. Forman smiled and nodded, and I think he thought that was a good thing. I knew better, though.

"Yeah, cuz they're sick and tired of having your ass in here all the time," I said, cracking a smile and Xander flipped me off.

"So, how are you doing?" Betsy asked him. "Do you need anything?"

"Some weed would be nice."

Betsy looked alarmed, like she wasn't sure if he was joking or not. I knew he wasn't, and I guess Mr. Forman did too, because we both smirked. Betsy saw our amused expressions and relaxed.

"Sorry, Xander. I don't have any weed. I wouldn't even know where to get any," she said.

"Just ask Luke," Xander replied with a wink.

Mr. Forman said that he should pay my dad a visit and winked. No one got that joke but me and him, because I knew that he knew that I got all my weed from my father. The three of us stuck around a little longer and then bid Xander farewell so Mr. Forman could drive Betsy and I home. He dropped Betsy off first, and then it was just us two in the car. He asked me if I had made any progress with Betsy and I said not yet.

"That's okay. After our first kiss, it took me weeks to finally ask my wife out," Mr. Forman said, turning into my neighborhood.

"Wow. Really?"

"Yeah. Love can be tricky. Just like Luke Skywalker said..."

At that moment, he pulled into my driveway and my mom came walking towards us, her arms crossed and not looking at all pleased. She thanked Mr. Forman for driving me home and then told me to go to my room.

I guess doing whatever I want while I'm grounded doesn't really work for her.


	9. BETSY: Distractions

_**Distractions**_

**BETSY**

As you probably guessed, my grounding had more to do with my mom than my dad. My dad, while disappointed, mostly just thought my act of vandalism was funny. He was more in touch with his inner child than my mother was. She was freaking out and thinking that I was acting out and thought that Luke was a bad influence on me. So she made me cancel my tutoring sessions with him so I could join the volleyball team. I like volleyball and she knows this but I hate it now that I know I could be with Luke while I'm at practice.

Luke was bummed when I told him, but understanding. And now I help him with his homework during lunch so he won't flunk all his classes. Xander's still in the hospital so he isn't there to steal our lunches and now my food just seems like a waste. It's always the little things that you miss about people...and for me, I miss the way Xander would steal my lunch and make fun of me - two things I thought I'd never miss. All I knew was that I couldn't wait for him to get out of the hospital.

My grounding hasn't been lifted yet but it will be soon. As of right now, I go to school, I go to volleyball practice, I go home, I study, I go to bed. The only thing keeping me sane is that my punishment will end in a week. And believe me, _I'm counting down the hours._

I walked into the gymnasium after school with my hair in a tight ponytail and my booty shorts on and my volleyball bag slung over my shoulder. Today marks the fifth day that I've been on the volleyball team and I already wish I could quit. I'm the best player on the team but I miss the smell of Luke's house and the awesome snacks that were in his cabinets and watching Beavis and Butt-Head on his lumpy couch. But most of all, I miss _Luke._ The only time I got to see him was at lunch...and it was killing me.

"Come on, Betsy, hurry up!" Tamara cried, bouncing to the volleyball court where the other girls started throwing the ball around.

"Alright," I grumbled and tied my shoes so tight that they pinched my feet and walked over to the rest of them as the game started.

_I hate this,_ I thought as I served the ball, angrily. _I hate being grounded. I hate my mom._ The ball was hit back to me and I served it back to me with full force, smacking it to the ground. One point for my team.

"Jeez, Betsy, we're only warming up. Relax," Valerie said, picking up the volleyball but I ignored her. Part of the reason I was so good was because I played my best when I was angry - and I was always angry at practice. The other girls and my coach didn't care why because it made our team better.

We played a few practice games - my team won, like usual - and did some drills and then it was time to go home. My mom picked me up and I gave her the cold shoulder, like I have been lately. At first, she gave me lectures on how ignoring her won't get my way but now she's playing the, "If-You-Ignore-Me-I'll-Ignore-You" game and only talks to me if she's saying, "Clean your room," or "It's time for dinner," or "Did you finish your homework?" That's fine, because I'm pissed at her, anyway.

As soon as I got home, I was sentenced to my room and finished my homework. But doing nothing but homework can drive a person crazy so I distracted myself by writing LUKE + BETSY all over a blank piece of paper and drew all kinds of hearts all over it. I read magazines, too, and when I got to the quizzes on dating and crushes and stuff, I couldn't help but try to fit into the category that Luke would like. Which made me think...what kind of girls _does_ Luke like?

I slumped down on my bed, sadly. I missed him so much. I think it was fair to say that I officially "liked" Luke, to put it into elementary school terms and now I was driving myself crazy thinking about him, wondering if he liked me or not and dreaming insane fantasies about him inside my head. I still have his jacket and I wear it around the house just because I miss him and I miss how he smells. That sounds creepy and obsessive but every girl who likes a guy is creepy and obsessive about him.

Mom commented on the jacket once when we were eating dinner, saying that she didn't remember buying it for me. I just shrugged and focused on my food because I was still ignoring her.

I suddenly remembered that the carnival was coming to town next week and I got all excited, knowing that I'd be un-grounded and able to go with Luke. Hopefully, Xander would be out of the hospital by then. Xander...I missed that little fucker, too. God, I hated being grounded. I felt so lonely. If I wasn't going grounded, I could visit him at the hospital. I could go to Luke's house. I could do _anything._ But no. I was grounded for vandalizing the stupid school.

But it was so worth it.


	10. LUKE: Carnival

_**Carnival**_

**LUKE**

Personally, I don't see why Point Place has the carnival come to town every year _during the winter._ It just doesn't make sense. Once a year, every weekend, all the kids in town get bundled up in winter clothes and head down to Mount Hump for carnival rides that should be ridden in the summer. But just because I don't understand it doesn't mean I don't go every year.

Luckily, the carnival came into town right when Christmas break started, and at exactly the same time when Betsy got ungrounded and Xander got out of the hospital. So, for once in my life, the carnival couldn't have come at a better time.

"The carnival is gonna be bitchin' this year," I boasted to Betsy, who had just showed up all bundled up in jackets. I was in the middle of putting on all my winter gear myself.

"Luke, is Xander here yet? Is it alright if you two take Caleb with you again this year?" Mom asked, approaching us with a big smile. My heart sank, but I had good ol' Dad here to back me up.

"Sarah, he's fifteen; he wants to go with his friends. Colin can take him, right?" he shot a glance at my brother who gave him a quick nod. "See?"

"Well...alright-" The door bell rang and Xander walked in with a ratty old jacket and army boots. "Alexander Montgomery, is that what you're wearing?"

"Yeah," Xander said, gruffly and my mom dragged him off to put on some of Colin's old winter clothes.

"He and my mom do this every year," I explained to Betsy.

"Hey, Betsy," Dad said. "How's your dad doing?"

"Good. Is your record store still doing okay?" And that's how she and my dad ended up in a riveting conversation about his record store and Led Zeppelin and how my Uncle Leo's still working there. Xander had been fully clothed and checked over by my mother twice before they were done and by then, we _still_ had to tear them apart.

"Your dad is so _cool._ I'm insanely jealous, Luke," Betsy gushed as the three of us trudged to Mount Hump.

My dad _was_ cool. He was laid back, he didn't give a shit about anything, and he introduced me to Led Zeppelin. But I'd still rather have funny, cheerful, goofy Michael Kelso as my father than the one I currently have, who seems to be there for everyone except me.

Betsy sucked in a gust of air. "Really?" That was when I realized that I had said all that stuff out loud.

"Yeah," I grumbled. "but whatever. It's nothing. Forget it."

"Good. I don't want to have to sit through another episode of _'My Daddy Doesn't Love Me'_," Xander mocked but I snapped, "Like you should talk!" which resulted in me getting punched in the jaw. Hard.

"Alright, alright, guys, break it up," Betsy said, holding her hands up. "Now both of you apologize."

"I will _not!_" Xander snapped and stomped ahead of us.

"Asshole," I muttered, rubbing my numb jaw.

"Don't be so hard on him," she said. "He probably doesn't want you bringing that up. If my parents didn't love me, it would bug me too."

"That doesn't mean he gets to say whatever he wants and get away with it!" I spent the rest of the time bitching about Xander while he sulked ahead of us.

The carnival wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. Xander and I didn't speak the entire time and Betsy was making awkward small talk directed at both of us to try to ease the tension but it didn't work. The rides were ridden in awkward silence. The whole day was just awkward.

It was on the ride that spun you round and round so much that you had to projectile vomit as soon as you got off it that disaster stuck. As if the night didn't suck enough already. Xander's glasses flew off near the end of the ride and he went into a panic about finding them. Or actually, making Betsy and I look for them because he was practically blind without them. We searched the snow all around the ride but they weren't there. And even after we couldn't find them, we _kept_ looking so long that all the other kids had gone home and the carnies had to kick us out.

Normally, Xander would have gotten into a loud, obnoxious fight with them but he was just stiff and silent as we left. I didn't dare say anything, mostly because I was still mad at him.

"_Fuck!_" Xander cried, with an upset tone in his voice. "Fuck, fuck, fuck! My dad is going to kill me!"

"You always say that," I pointed out.

"No, I mean it, man," he said as tears slipped down his face. "He's gonna finish me off this time. This is just one more thing that his fuck-up son has done to dissapoint him. No wonder he hates me. A guy like him won't want a _queer_ for a son." He let out a strangled sob. "What'll he do once he finds out I don't like chicks?"

Betsy threw a comforting arm around his shoulder while he cried but I was too shocked to do or say anything. I had always _suspected_ but for Xander to admit out loud that he was gay...it was too much for me. Xander might have been ready to say it but I wasn't ready to hear it.

Betsy and I walked him home and Betsy gave him a long, lingering hug before he wiped his eyes and went inside. I called out, "'Night, man," and he nodded at me. The door shut and we both turned and got out of there as fast as we could. Whatever Xander had coming, we didn't want to stick around to hear it. I led Betsy to the park that Xander and I always went to without a word. We sat in the same spot in silence.

"Are you okay?" Betsy finally asked.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"It doesn't matter if Xander's gay. Everything will still be exactly the same. _Xander_ is still exactly the same."

"I know," I muttered. "And I knew all along."

Betsy put a gloved hand on my heavily layered arm and I could feel her breath against my neck. That was when I realized things _weren't_ going to be the same. They weren't going to be the same because I was about to kiss Betsy Kelso. I could deal with Xander being gay but right now my mind was on other things. My stomach flipped over and over as I felt her staring at me, her lips inching closer and closer to mine.

"Hey! It's getting late. Shouldn't you kids be getting home soon?" a policeman called as he drove by the park.

Irritation filled me for being interrupted and I tried to go back to where we were before but Betsy was already getting to her feet. "I guess that's my cue to get going. I'll see you later, Luke."

"Yeah," I agreed and watched her walk away, wondering if I had imagined it at all.


	11. BETSY: Volleyball Game

_**Volleyball Game**_

**BETSY**

It's the first volleyball game of the season and I couldn't be more nervous. Mostly because I usually play my best when I'm pissed off, but how can I be when Luke and I almost kissed yesterday? After hours of overanalyzing the moment, I'm sure that's what happened and I curse myself for spazzing out and ruining the moment after that cop interrupted us. I guess I'm a little mad about that but not _that_ mad because if Luke really likes me then he'll make another move...right?

My mom is coming to the game, and since we're speaking again, I want her to be proud of me. Either that, or I'm hoping she'll see how awful I am and pull me off the team immediately so I can spend all my free time with Luke. But somehow, I don't see that happening.

I stepped out onto the court with my teammates and the bleachers roared with applause. My stomach flipped over in nervousness: what if I sucked? What if I let them all down?

"_Go Betsy!_" someone screamed from the crowd and I looked up to see Luke and Xander waving at me from the top of the bleachers. I noticed that Xander had a new pair of glasses on and wondered where he got them from. I would have to ask him after the game.

We got into our appropriate spots on the court and the game started. I was psyched that Luke and Xander were here but it also added more stress. I didn't want them to think I was some loser who couldn't even play volleyba-

My thought was cut short when the volleyball smacked against the side of my head, and I staggered.

"Betsy! What are you doing? _Pay attention!_" the coach screamed at me from the sidelines, and I nodded and straightened back up.

_Get your head in the game, Betsy, come on,_ I thought, giving myself a pep-talk.

The ball came over to our side again and I quickly hit it to the other side - I didn't even have to think about it, my body just reacted. Suddenly, I felt a whole lot lighter knowing that my good volleyball skills didn't come only when I was angry. My teammates seemed at ease, too, knowing that their star player was back.

The rest of the game went pretty much like that, and we won by a landslide. Our team shook hands with the players of the other team, and then let our friends and family in the bleachers come over and congratulate us.

"Betsy, you were amazing!" Mom cried, pulling me into a hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks, Mom," I replied, smiling, and I thought that maybe being on the volleyball team wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Way to go, Bets. You were awesome," Luke said as he and Xander approached us.

"Yeah. Except when you almost got knocked out in the beginning. What was that about?" Xander asked, snickering.

"I got a good look at your face and it scared the crap outta me," I teased him and then hugged them both.

"Well, Betsy, I was going to take you home after the game," Mom said and then paused. "but if you want to go to The Hub with your friends, that would be alright."

"Really?" I asked, shocked. Mom hated Luke and Xander - what made her change her mind?

"Yeah. Just be home at a reasonable time, okay?"

"Okay, Mom."

Then she hugged me again and left.

"I thought she hated us," Xander commented.

"I thought she did too," I agreed and then shrugged. "Fuck it. You wanna get going? The sooner we get out of this hot, smelly gym, the better."

"Yeah," Luke agreed with a grin, and the three of us bundled up in our winter clothes before heading outside.

We laughed and joked with each other as we trudged through the snow on our way to The Hub, but I felt like there was a bit of tension between Luke and I. But at the same time, he was acting totally normal, like last night never happened. Is that mixed signals or what?

By the time we got there, all three of us were freezing our asses off and Luke and I sat down while Xander went to order our food, and it surprised me when he offered to do it because Xander never does _anything._ He just sits on his ass and yells at people to do it for him. But I wished he had stayed because as soon as Luke and I were alone, it got awkward. We made awkward small talk until,

"Hey - is that my jacket?" Luke noticed, gesturing to the jacket I was wearing.

"Oh," I said, looking down at it. "Yeah. I guess I just forget to give it back. Do you want it back?" I started to take it off but Luke shook his head, smirking.

"Nah. Keep it. It looks better on you, anyway."

"Good, because it smells like boy. And that's the best smell in the world," I joked and Luke laughed while I held the sleeve up to my nose and sniffed.

"Whatever you say."

"Well, lovebirds, here's your goddamn food," Xander said, putting down hot dogs in front of both of us and digging into this cheeseburger. _Lovebirds?_ I thought while Luke glared daggers at Xander, who pretended not to notice. But why would he say that?

Unless... I smirked. Unless Luke told him about last night. _And that means Luke likes me,_ I thought and I was sure my face would split in half, I was grinning so wide.


	12. LUKE: Visiting Grooves

_**Visiting Grooves**_

**LUKE**

"You two need lives, pronto," a voice announced and Xander and I looked up from inspecting records at my dad's record store to see who the speaker was. It was Betsy.

"Betsy! What are you doing here?" I asked, putting down the Led Zeppelin record and turning to face her.

"My dad came down here to get an Anne Murray album for my mom and he made me come with him. It's just a coinkidink that you two happened to also show up here," she replied with a smirk etched upon her face.

"A coinkidink, huh?" Xander scoffed, cocking an eyebrow. "It's not like Luke's dad _owns_ the store or anything. Nope, we just happened to stroll in cuz we like the fucking _music._"

"Hey! The music in my dad's store _owns,_ okay?" I argued. "Just because you're mentally retarded and can't appreciate it doesn't mean you can go around bad mouthing it!"

"Yes, it does, asshole."

"You're the asshole!"

"Are you two idiots done?" Betsy interrupted us. "Because I wasn't done with my story."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"On our way to your record store, my dad met up with Mr. Forman, you know, our history teacher, and he was with _his_ family so he decided to come with us to _GROOVES_ so he could come say hi to your dad."

Xander and I looked around and sure enough, Mr. Forman was talking animatedly with Mr. Kelso and my dad, with his smoking hot wife at his side. I spotted his two sons, who were identical down to the last freckle, fooling around by the cash regiter and his soon-to-be-hot daughter carefully watching Caleb as he was flipping through records.

"Speaking of mental retardation, why the hell would you bring your deaf brother to a music store? That's just cruel," Xander said, and for the first time in my life, I was glad that my little brother was deaf because he couldn't hear what my asswipe of a best friend had just said.

"Caleb is _not_ retarded," I snarled.

"I wasn't calling him retarded, I was calling _you_ retarded," Xander replied with a smirk, and I felt myself relax a little. I should have known better. Xander may be an asshole at times but there are some lines that he knows not to cross, and that includes making fun of Caleb.

"Oh."

Betsy nudged me and I noticed that Mr. Forman's daughter was staring at us with round eyes and it was obvious that she had heard everything we had just said.

"Um, hello," Betsy said, nervously, to the little ground. Mr. Forman's daughter looked at Betsy, then at me and Xander, then back to Betsy, as if she were studying us.

The little girl lowered her voice and jabbed a thumb in Caleb's direction. "That boy is deaf?"

"Yeah, he is," I answered, realizing that she and Caleb looked around the same age.

She frowned, thinking about this. Then she asked, "Are you sure?"

I laughed at this. "I'm pretty sure. I mean, I _should_ be sure. He's my brother, after all."

"Does he know sign language?"

"Yeah."

The girl thought about this, and then turned and walked over to where her parents were standing and began to tug on her mother's sleeve, asking for something.

"Well, that was one weird-ass conversation," Xander commented, and Betsy and I laughed. We ended up just hanging out at the record store for a while until Betsy's dad came up behind us and told her that they were leaving.

"That's okay, Dad. You head on home; I'm gonna stay here and hang out with Xander and Luke, okay?" she said.

"Alright, Betsy Bets. It'll give me and your mother some alone time," he teased and winked at her, and then walked out the door with his album.

"Oh, _yuck!_" Betsy cried, pretending to gag.

Shortly after, Mr. Forman came over to say hi to us, his family in tow, and introduced them all. Turns out the little girl's name is Brianna. His wife, Donna, seemed extremely excited to meet Betsy and I, probably because she knew our parents. When she saw Xander, something dark flashed in her eyes, like she was remembering something bad, but the look had gone just as quickly as it had come.

"Okay, well, we'd better go. Bri is dragging us to the library, so I'll see you three in school," Mr. Forman said, and the three of us watched the family pile into an ancient Vista Cruiser and back out of the parking lot.

"I wonder why she wanted to go to the library," Betsy wondered aloud.

"Who cares?" Xander asked, shrugging, and then turned to me. "Hey, Luke, I've got an idea, man. We should go back to your house and find some of your old man's 'stash'."

"I don't know, man, Betsy might not want to - " I started but Betsy cut me off.

"I'm cool with it. Let's go."

**Xxx**

The three of us were sitting in a circle on the floor of my room, inhaling the smoke that drifted around my room and enjoying the sensations as the drug passed through our bodies. I was feeling the way I normally do when I smoke pot: horny, hungry, sleepy, and - well - _happy._

Usually when Xander and I smoke pot by ourselves, we take turns jerking off to some Playboys in the bathroom and then go raid my pantry but this time was different. This time, we had a girl with us. A real girl, not some model smiling at us from a magazine.

So I decided to do something about my horniness, leaned over and kissed Betsy as hard and passionately as I could.


End file.
